im going to be travelling to europe (spain france austria netherlands etc, probably not eastern europe) for a couple of months around sept-october next year. (i still have lots of time i want to decide exactly what cities to go to and how long i want to stay in each city as im travelling, not before i leave.

i wanted to ask all the veteran backpackers out there, if i would have problems finding a place to stay in hostels etc if i dont make reservations before hand? and, will i have to pay more $$ if i dont have reservations?

also, if you have any experiences staying at places other than hostels please post em here too !!

I'm travelling through mainly Eastern Europe from this October. I haven't book any hostels yet. I'll obviously book a couple of nights before hand at my starting point, Vienna, Austria just for peace of mind. But that's it. I'll take it as it comes.

June, July, and August are the overall busiest travel months as most people are on summer vacation. I´d book something then, depending on what cities you´re going to.
September on, you should be fine without reservations, unless you´re going to a country/city where they´ll be celebrating something huge like Octoberfest, running of the bulls, Christmas, etc...

After walking to the other side of Glasgow to a hostel and finding out that it was full, i wish I had of pre-booked...but on the other hand, i did not know i was going to be in Glasgow until that morning. So i was really screwed either way.

If I had a set plan with dates and locations of where i would be, I would pre-book, but if your just being a trav'la without a plan (me), then you really can't do much about pre-booking. B)

Yeah, I'd have to say that it largely depends on when you're traveling. At the height of backpacker season -- summer months, you may occaisonally find yourself without a bed to sleep in because all hostels in a particular city may be booked. This happened to me on 3 separate occasions in Brussels, Belgium of all places. Don't know what it is about Brussels (there are several hostels there), but I refused to learn my lesson the first couple of times I passed through there on my 3 month backpacking journey through Europe (summer of 2002), and I wound up taking night trains to Antwerp where I knew of some "safe" places (parks/park benches) to sleep. All in all I didn't have any problems booking on the fly, as I didn't plan ANY of my trip -- I just went with the flow. Kept it free and open, so as I met people along the way I could travel with them. And now I have stories to tell because I've slept on the streets of Antwerp, Paris, Milan, and Nice. I would; however, book a bed if you are going to a particular city/town where a festival or other big event is taking place as demand for shelter will be high. Best of luck to you! And have fun!